I laid out my clothes the night before: black v-neck sweater, pedal pushers, and black jeweled mules with kitten heels. I was ready to see Dr. T.

My morning-of ritual consisted of shaving my legs, scrunching my hair so the curls fell across my eyes at just the right angle, and layering the perfume.

When the nurse came in and took my vitals, she commented on how good I smelled. Excellent, send the doctor in – I’m ready for him. Next in was Dr. T’s trainee. He looked at me somewhat fearfully, as if a good smelling redhead had not been around in a while. He reviewed my chart and then looked at me as said, “You are doing really good and you look great. The doctor will be in shortly.”

Dr. T came in with the trainee. He looked different – new glasses and thinning hair. His panty-melting accent was only a consolation prize. I starred at him as Trainee boy ran through the stats.

“You look like you are doing well. Get on additional calcium and zinc supplements and we’ll see you in a few months,” Dr. T said as he walked out.

My medical crush is over. Hot Dr. T stood me up for some supposed “emergency” in the ER. I went to the trouble of shaving my legs, pushing up the boobs and applying mascara only to get his substitute for my appointment/date. The eastern European accented, crooked-tooth intern didn’t provide me much comfort in Dr. T’s absence. The good news is my stitches have healed. The bad news is, I know I’m not going back. Dr. T, rest in peace.

I looked forward to meeting my surgeon. This was going to be my first hospital visit and I really didn’t know what to expect. ER stitches when I was nine was the closest I’ve been to admitted. I knew as soon as I walked into my surgeon’s office I was screwed, and wanted to be.

He had a tiny smile. His small, hip oval glasses hid his nice brown eyes. He had some product in his spikey hair. He was conspicuously hetero and 30-something with a panty-melting accent. Anyone that can pronounce my name with a rolling R is as good as laid. When he got closer, I realized he was taller than me. Instantaneous love kicked in.

Surgery expectations were explained. I tried to listen, but my inner child was calling the florist and the caterer. Whatever… the director of the center for minimally invasive surgery is going to be touching me. I’ll rest easy.

When I left, panic set in. Would I be able to do everything I needed to do before our “date”? I called my waxistician first. The secret garden was in arrears and needed pruning. If Dr. T was going to see me in all my glory, it needed to be spectacular, not to mention my eyebrows and oh, shit, I’d need to have cute toes too.

With appointments made, there was only one thing left to do. I Google-stalked the doctor and discovered he lived in Santa Monica and was a high earner on some of the online gambling sites. I could do a Vegas wedding in a pinch.

On surgery day, I prepped like I was going on a date. I shaved the legs and slathered them with shea butter for the smoothest feeling possible. I layered my best getcha-some perfume, Narciso Rodriquez, and I put my hair up in pigtails with flowers. He came into my pre-op curtained cubicle, smiled, and shook my hand.

He left, my BP went up and my sleepy cocktail was administered. The next day, he came to say goodbye when I was being discharged. My hair was down and wild and fresh lip gloss had been applied.

“You look amazing. You are doing so well,” the good doctor noted.

On my third date with Dr. T, I switched to Bulgari Omnia. I was spunky, cute and ready for my post-op visit to check my stitches. The door opened, our eyes connected and I gave him a big smile and a hair flip.

“You must be feeling good with a smile like that,” Dr. T said.

If he were naked, I’d really be feeling better. I got up on the table, he lifted my shirt and looked at my stitches. It was all good. He asked me if I had any other problems.

“Yeah, I’m doing great except for the weird dreams. Last night I was chased by a Spanish omlette. It was like MI3 meets Denny’s,” I said.

Food dreams. Great cock block Marna. I could of told him about a positive problem like “I just can’t drink enough water. I love it.” No instead, I fucked myself with my Moons over My Hammy mentality. Grand Slam. Fool, party of one, your table is ready.

I’ve got a couple more weeks to prep for my next date with Dr. T, but I’m not sure I can find a remedial flirting class to attend in time. As much as I want to be the hair-flipping sex kitten, my personality is always going to be the Chuck Taylor hightop wearing, casual type. I’m open, too honest, I lack self-censorship, and my “game” is spontaneity.

About Marna

Marna’s writing career started as a Pentagon intern. Early exposure to $500 toilet seat press releases made her appreciate creative nonfiction. Now she has more than 25 years of senior-level marketing and communications success working with Fortune 100 companies, government, nonprofits, small businesses, startups, and agencies.